Chapter 241: Reunion in the Heart of the Lanternfish

Thud, thud, thud…

Footsteps echoed through the cave.

Soon enough, a figure wearing a dinosaur costume darted out, moving stealthily.

“Olga!”

“Where are you?”

The dinosaur head swiveled from side to side. Its gaze suddenly locked onto Olga.

He stared in disbelief for a long moment before finally accepting it—this really was his daughter Olga after more than a hundred years apart. She hadn’t changed a bit.

Splash, splash!

The sound of ripping cloth followed as a man with golden hair, a round face, and several rolls of fat around his belly emerged.

Olga looked on in shock, not sure what to make of it. “Dad?”

She could hardly believe it, thinking this giant stranger must be lying to her. She never imagined it was truly her father.

Achille rushed forward in huge strides and pulled Olga into a tight embrace. “Olga, thank goodness you’re safe.”

He never thought his daughter could still be alive. The joy of seeing her again left his eyes brimming with tears and he broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.

Olga sent a pleading glance to Karl, clearly at a loss for how to handle this father-daughter reunion.

After a hundred years of resentment, it was Karl’s help that made her realize the pure gold was made to save her. Her hatred for her father faded so quickly, she had no idea what to say now.

“Alright, let’s pause for a bit.”

“I’m Karl, head of the Rocks Family in the New World. I’m here to get the Pure Gold.”

“Next up, I might have to kill the Lanternfish.”

“You’re Karl?” Olga asked in surprise.

“You think you can kill Lord Lanternfish?”

“Are you serious, or just bragging?”

“Lanternfish is massive—there’s no way you could take it down, right?” With that, she drew a huge circle in the air with both hands, showing just how gigantic Lanternfish was.

Pure Gold slows the body’s aging process, which really means it affects lifespan—essentially, the telomeres in human cells.

Telomeres can divide around 50 times. Each time adds about two and a half years, so a human’s theoretical maximum lifespan is roughly 125 years.

Yet, looking at Achille’s size, Karl realized Pure Gold doesn’t affect body growth. Otherwise, Achille wouldn’t be this overweight.

That explained why the Lanternfish has gotten bigger and bigger over the years. Its body could grow, but lifespan was stuck.

“Of course. My target is the Pure Gold inside the Lanternfish’s lantern.” Karl nodded with a calm certainty.

Achille was skeptical that Karl could really pull this off, but since Karl reunited him with his daughter, he just said, “Your name’s Karl, right?”

“In the Lanternfish’s deepest stomach lies the Pure Gold I made. Think of it as my gift to you.”

Offering the Pure Gold that brought him and his daughter together—that was the decision Achille made.

All those years separated from his daughter gave him plenty of time to reflect. Nothing was more precious than her.

“You must be a top-tier chemist. Otherwise, you couldn’t possibly create something like Pure Gold. How about joining us?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t force you to make Pure Gold. You can pursue whatever research you want.”

This was the world of pirates—science didn’t follow any rules. Someone who could craft Pure Gold by hand was absolutely first-rate talent.

His achievements in chemistry alone could easily surpass those of Caesar and Quinn.

“You two can catch up once we get out. There’ll be plenty of time for that.”

“Let’s head deeper now.”

Without giving the father and daughter another chance to speak, Karl grabbed Olga and Elizabeth with his left hand and Achille with his right, then flew straight toward Lanternfish’s third stomach.

They moved so fast, with the wind whipping past, that the two could barely open their mouths—the father and daughter could only exchange dramatic glances mid-air.

Before long, Karl landed them on an open patch of ground.

“Ah, this is my home.”

“I never thought I’d set foot here again.”

“I really can’t thank you enough, Karl!”

Olga hopped onto Elizabeth and hurried toward the house ahead.

All her childhood memories and her past were here.

“Slow down! The lab is full of traps,”

Achille warned, his words carrying a double meaning. He dashed forward to block Olga’s path.

“This is your room. Go ahead and gather whatever you need.”

“But please hurry up. Once Lanternfish starts moving again, it’ll be a lot harder to get out.”

Hearing this, Achille nodded to Karl and led his daughter inside.

Karl crossed his arms and waited there.

He was a world-class chemist, after all. Karl didn’t expect him to make more Pure Gold, but as long as he had those research notes, Vegapunk would definitely figure out the formula.

Father and daughter moved quickly. Thirty minutes later, each was lugging a big trunk. Achille also carried a jar with a chunk of gold soaked in some unknown liquid.

This mysterious fluid worked perfectly to keep the Pure Gold’s glow from leaking out.

“Here’s the Pure Gold you wanted.”

“If you’re really going to kill Lanternfish, I’ll join you.”

If it weren’t for Lanternfish, he and his daughter wouldn’t have been separated for over a century. Saying he didn’t resent Lanternfish was a lie—how could he not?

Now that he knew the truth, more than anything, he wanted to destroy Lanternfish himself—but he had no way to pull it off on his own.

He could only bury the idea deep in his heart. Now that an opportunity like this had come along, how could he say no?

But if Lanternfish really got killed while they were still inside, wouldn’t that mean they’d meet a grisly end too?

Karl nodded approvingly. This scientist was sharper than he looked.

Word had spread across the sea that he’d created Pure Gold by hand. Otherwise, pirates wouldn’t have come looking for him.

If father and daughter left here, they’d almost certainly be discovered by agents of the World Government, and their safety would be in jeopardy.

If Karl could kill Lanternfish, it meant he was strong enough to protect the two of them.

There’d be no need to spend the rest of their days in hiding anymore.

The two had totally different thoughts, but at least their goals lined up.

“Glad to have your answer.”

Taking the Pure Gold from Achille, Karl tried stashing it in his system space.

Whoosh!

The Pure Gold vanished from his hand and Karl nodded in satisfaction.

Since it could be stored in the system space, he didn’t have to be gentle with the Lanternfish out there.

Otherwise, he’d have to figure out how to drag Lanternfish to the New World, which ran the risk of being spotted by the World Government—and that would put an end to any peaceful days.

But as his eyes fell on the father and daughter in front of him, Karl couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on.